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对得起 (duì de qǐ) — to live up to; to not let down; to be worthy of

Definition

Means 'to live up to' or 'be worthy of' (expectations, promises, trust). It judges whether you met a standard; 值得 judges whether something is worth your time.

verb
to live up toto not let downto be worthy of

Examples

  • 对得起。
    Tā yòng zì jǐ de shí lì duì de qǐ le zhè cì jī huì.
    He used his own ability to live up to this opportunity.
  • 对得起。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng wán quán duì de qǐ guān zhòng de qī dài.
    This movie fully lived up to the audience's expectations.
  • 对得起。
    Wǒ men yí dìng yào duì de qǐ zì jǐ de chéng nuò.
    We must live up to our promises.

Origin

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 對; 对 is its simplified writing.

For the traditional form 對, the shape comes from an early drawing of 丵 (a digging tool), 土 (earth), and 又 (a hand); it may have meant developing land.

Open 对 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The old form 㝵 showed a hand picking up a cowry, meaning to obtain; later changes turned that picture into 得.

Open 得 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
走走zǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
巳
巳sì起qǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

起 is made from 走 and 巳: 走 is the part connected with walking or running, and 巳 gives the sound.

Open 起 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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